Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained that Donny Van de Beek was smart enough to play in more positions for Manchester United, after directing him to the left wing against Everton.
The Dutch midfielder has been in and out of United’s ranks in his debut season at Old Trafford since making a £ 35m move from Ajax in the summer, although he was impressive in the first half of United’s 2-0 win over Everton.
United dominated the game for a long time, especially in the first half, but had to fight in the second half and eventually secured the win thanks to shots by Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial.
Although Van de Beek faded after the break, Solskjaer praised the qualities of the 23-year-old and compared him to Bruno Fernandes after the win at Everton.
Solskjaer said: “He is one of those smart players who can move into space, find space – like Bruno, to be honest – and we want the two of them to move between the lines, stand on the ball, connect the game to and found the space. I thought it went well. “
Solskjaer believes United are gaining confidence after their second win at Everton’s Goodison Park this season and the one that concluded the Carabao Cup semi-final match with Manchester City.
He added: “Of course we are currently happy with the team, Man City in the semi-finals, so it will be a big game.
“Last year we had three semifinals, of course, the step is not enough. This year, as last year, we played them in the semifinals, so let’s see how we will go.
“We have a great team, we trust them, every time you win a game, you get the energy and it raises your morale and confidence. We played on Wednesday night and we play again [at] 12.30 Saturday which of course I am not happy with, but we hope to make up for it with the energy we get by winning and passing. “